176 ILLINOIS STATE ACADEMY OF SCIENCE 



have to rely upon the surface and ground supplies; in 

 other words on the rainfall. The question in view of the 

 possible decline and the often quick exhaustion of the 

 ground supplies in a dry season relates not merely to the 

 preservation of the purity of the surface water but to 

 its conservation. 



Take Knox, my own, county. In it are 440 streams, 

 little and big, enclosed between ranges of hills. Many 

 of these streams could be dammed and the water pre- 

 served. We have built up a wonderful system of surface 

 drainage that empties the surface layers of their water, 

 more rapidly than formerly, and hastens exhaustion of 

 the moisture so that crops suffer. Last year the drouth 

 cost Knox county farmers a third of their corn crop. 

 With reservoirs there could be at least partial irriga- 

 tion. Even Congress has considered means of impound- 

 ing water so as to prevent destructive floods. It is esti- 

 mated that in Knox county, an annual rainfall of thirty 

 six inches means the precipitation of four hundred and 

 fifty billion gallons of water on its surface, and the im- 

 mense run off of 150,000,000,000 gallons, if not more in 

 flood years, goes on its way to the ocean, while during 

 the dry season the beds of the streams may be dry. It 

 goes without our making use of it. 



Illinois has some good laws on the subject of stream 

 pollution but in view of existing public sentiment it is 

 difficult to apply them. For instance, the Statute pro- 

 vides that, "It shall be the duty of the Department of 

 Public Works and Buildings to see that all the streams 

 and lakes of the State of Illinois, wherein the State of 

 Illinois or any of its citizens have any rights or inter- 

 ests, are not polluted or defiled. 



"It shall be unlawful for any persons, firm or corpo- 

 ration to throw, discharge, dump, or deposit, or cause, 

 suffer or procure to be thrown, discharged , dumped or 

 deposited any acids or chemicals, industrial wastes or 

 refuse, poisonous effluent, or dye stuff, clay or other 

 washings, or any other substance deleterious to fish life, 

 or any refuse matter of any kind or description contain- 

 ing solids, substance discoloring or otherwise polluting 

 any navigable lake, river or stream in this state, or lake, 



